"These then are my last words to you. Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact."-William James

On Parents

No fancy-pants musical choice this week. Just a dedication to my parents.

“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.” ~William D. Tammeus

“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.” ~Oscar Wilde

Good afternoon SQers! I know it’s been a few weeks since I have posted a new SQ post and I apologize. I was just so exhausted when I came home from my service trip last week. How have all of your weekends been? Mine has been quite busy doing last-minute shopping and packing preparing to head back to the city this week. Despite how hectic it might have been, I would still call the weekend productive in more than one aspect especially since I had a long, much overdue talk with my parents Friday night. In the end, some things got resolved and not others, but I feel much better and have a new-found respect for my parents and all that it takes to be a parent.

In our childhood, our knowledge is limited to what our parents teach us. It is only after we grow older that we begin to form our own judgement and stray outside of the bubble we grew up in. We form our own preferences, interests and dreams. We strive to develop ourselves increasingly as individuals often at the expense of the person we once were. As an integral part of our past, parents occasionally take the brunt of the blame during that transitory period.

Is lashing out at our parents the best way to cope with problems? Probably not, but from the perspective of a child…it is difficult to remember that. Our parents mainly become annoying/naggers/naysayers/pessimistic/insert-your-negative-adjective-of-choice-here. Yet, what we forget is that for the most part that most of what they do is meant to come from a good place. They watch us mature from teeny infants to mature adults trying to make the best decisions to live the best life possible. It is their job to play the bad guy sometimes even if it makes you resent them because in the big picture it’s all for you. From their perspective it is hard to let go, let their child become independent and live their own lives. They long for the easier days when their kids were infants and everything was simplified.

I may not be qualified to share my opinion on this subject seeing as I am not a parent. However, I feel it’s a difficult job…comes with no instructions, subject to change at any moment, long hours, lots of love and flexibility. So if as an adult you consider yourself an exemplary human being before you go and pat yourself on the back..thank your parents and tell them how much you love them. They deserve a hand for the job they did in raising you and probably don’t hear it enough. Personally, for my parents...they did an excellent job and I hope that when I have kids someday that I can be half as amazing as a parent as they both were.

Why Sunday Quotes?

This idea originally came to me when I was going through a difficult time and needed to find a way to deal with things. I started to look for a positive quote at the start of every week that I ended up writing on a post-it note and keeping on my desk to motivate & get me through the week. It usually would reflect whatever was on my mind at the time. I've always been a quotes and lyrics girl so it came naturally and sort of evolved into a weekly tradition. I started sharing my quotes with a few of my friends and figured it would just be easier to turn it into a blog to be able to share with everyone. So enjoy =)